Tagged: Danny Miki

Bruce Wayne is having one of those days. You know the ones, where everything is #$%ed and everybody sucks. The type of days that have you packing a chainsaw, to skin some dudes raw. And if Bruce’s day keeps going this wa- okay I’ll stop.

All-Star Batman #1 is the double sized return of Scott Snyder to Batman, paring one of the most acclaimed Batman writers of our time with modern legend John Romita Jr, and current artistic tour-de-force Declan Shalvey. While I’ve stated that I REALLY REALLY REALLY don’t like paying $5 for single issues, it’s hard to say no to a creative team like this, also my ability to not spend money is questionable at best.

The debut of this new, villain focused All-Star Batman sees Batman and ol Harvey Dent taking a little road trip to try solve Harvey’s Two-Face problem. Two-Face, reimagined as some sort of crime boss Snowden, has put quite the bounty on the Bat which means everyone from Firefly to common folk are gunning for Batman. The Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire colored back up has Batman working with former We Are Robin lead/Snyder created character Duke Thomas to investigate a murder that appear to be unrelated to the Two-Face arc. Both tales have some incredible twists to them, ensuring that readers/suckers like me come back to spend $5 again next month.

John Romita Jr is an artist whose work I’ve been exposed to a lot, as I grew up reading hella Spider-Man comics. It does feel odd to see him draw Batman, but that does not at all mean his work on this book is bad, far from it. He’s an excellent fit for the title and this universe, bringing the right amount of bombastic action to a story that’s heavy on fight scenes. His take on Two-Face is terrific, and the last page of his story is possibly the greatest collection of panels assembled in 2016. Inking JRJR is Danny Miki, who is superb, with Dean White providing the book with some gorgeous colors. The Declan Shalvey & Jordi Bellaire story is a little more contained, slower paced and something you’d expect from a Scott Snyder Batman comic. It’s gorgeous in its own right, offering sleek visuals to a more psycho-analytical story.

I’ve dug a number of past Scott Snyder-penned Batman stories, and All-Star Batman is no different. But this larger page count and multiple artist project allows Snyder to flex his creative muscles and tell the type of cerebral detective story we’re use to with the back-up, with the main story being an over the top action story. Year Zero certainly hinted at that sort of thing with crossbow wielding dirt bike Batman, but here we get the next level of that with CHAINSAW TRUCKER Batman. It’s a nice counter offer to the more traditional super heroics seen in the Tom King Batman series, as well the more X-Men influenced Detective Comics.

All Star Batman is my favorite thing to come out of Rebirth so far. Given a murder’s row of artists and his own little corner of the Bat universe to play in, Snyder is now allowed to tell his own stories, free of worry of the current status quo, and with some of the most iconic villains in the industry. As much as I’m against five dollars comics, this is definitely the rare exception that is worth every penny.

Happy May Forbidden Planet Faithful! Hopefully you had a fine Free Comic Book Day, and found Avengers: Age of Ultron enjoyable as I did. I’m going to do something different this week, as 2 stories that I’ve dug wrapped up, and I’m dedicating an article each to them. First off, let’s take a look at arguably the biggest release of the week, DC Comics’ Batman #40!

Batman #40

Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo/Danny Miki/FCO Plascencia

DC, $4.99

Here we have me being made in to a liar. The type of liar who was willing to drop $5 on a comic, which I’m sure also makes me a double liar of sorts.

As stated here and here, I am not a dude who reads Batman monthly. I am a dude who trade waits it, because it’s very good and reads extremely well collected. HOWEVER, the hype for this issue was insane, the leaks/spoilers for the next arc are as equally crazy, and it was a slow release week. Also I’m bad with money, so I figured why not spend 5 bucks on a comic that is the ending to an arc I’ve only read 1 chapter and two tie in.

Even with putting myself at a disadvantage, I still found myself really loving Batman #40. Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki and FCO Plascencia are in the middle of a legendary run, and this final issue is a brutal emotional experience that really rewards those who’ve been with the book for a while. The Endgame arc has been building up since issue one of the series, with the creative team revealing their hand , showing exactly what from what arcs lead to these events.

For those out of the loop, here’s the general premise of Endgame (also, here be spoilers): The Joker did not take the events of 2012’s Death of the Family too well and has decided to end his beef with Batman once and for all. What this means is turning his infamous laughing gas into a biological weapon, Jokerizing most of Gotham, and the Justice League. Batman managed to stop the JLA, taking them off the playing field for a week, but now has to face a city turned against him while looking into the revelation that the Joker may be some sort of immortal boogeyman. With the odds stacked against him, Batman #40 see the Dark Knight being forced to make several strange alliances while working with some of his more traditional allies, or risk losing everything.

Scott Snyder holds nothing back with this issue, dropping bombshell after bombshell without giving the reader a chance to recover from any of them. There’s several callbacks his own work on the characters, as those who became before him, including a delightful twist that had me quite pleased. It’s smart and engaging script, which is nothing new for Snyder, but is appreciated none the less, as he does “dark” comics right. They feel important with the stakes raised, but never soul crushing (at least without a good reason).

But ultimately, this comic is Greg Capullo, Danny Miki and FCO Plascenica’s finest hour, as their combined efforts make for an incredible visual experience. Capullo’s panels pack a real punch to them, as his brutal, chaotic and stylized pencils will make you cringe from the violence, yet respect the talent and skill involved. And the way he draws character’s body language and expression helps conveys the emotions so well, it’s like he reading Snyder’s script to you in person. Danny Miki‘s inks are equally impressive, with his use of heavy black ink giving this book a creepy, yet slick look. And Plascenica really brings everything together, with his palette giving this book an emotional weight it needs to convey the story it’s telling properly.

With 30 something issues under their belts (there’s been a few guests artists and writers), it’s impressive how good this creative team has been on this title. There’s a reason why Batman is the flagship DC book, and it’s nice to see this team tell the type of stories they want to tell with little to no editorial interference. Endgame is yet another triumph for Snyder, Capullo and friends, and it’s exciting to see what they’ll do next come June.

It’s the end of 2014, which means it’s time for everyone to drop “Best Of” lists. Truth be told, there’s been a ton of acclaimed comics I didn’t read this year, so me complying one is kind of whack. HOWEVER, I’ve read a bunch of good comics this year, so I’m going to make 3 articles dedicated to some of my favorites from the past year. A solid cop-out if you ask me, #biased.

2012/2013 saw me drop a number of DC Comics titles, mostly due to the lack of interest in the direction DC editorial was heading. 2014 changed that, as editor Mark Doyle came aboard the Bat-line and shook things up a lot, assigning some top notch creators to old and new titles. It’s resulted in me getting interested back in Dc’s catalog for the first time in a while, with the exception of one book I never really stopped reading.

That exception is Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo‘s amazing run on Batman. This book has been constantly excellent since the beginning of the new 52, and this year saw the conclusion to the incredible Year Zero story line, as well as the fantastic Endgame arc. Snyder’s Batman has been a more human take of the character, way different from the Bat-god we’ve seen from Grant Morrison‘s run, and has been the most relatable take on the character in some time. Greg Capullo, inked masterfully by Danny Mikiwith amazing colors by FCO Plascencia,is doing some next level stuff with this book. His villains are grotesque, his Batman is a mix of iconic and pulp hero, and his Gotham varies from modern metropolis to nightmare-fuel garbagetown depending on the scene.

But Snyder and Capullo kicking ass isn’t anything new. What is new is Grayson, the spy thriller that saw Nightwing go from vigilante to spy who refuses to kill. Which is problematic given his new profession. Written by Tim Seeleyand former actual spy Tom King, with Mikel Janin and Jeromy Cox, it’s been the most compelling Dick Grayson has been since he was Batman, and is a fun book that incorporates espionage with some weirder elements of the Batverse. While the book suffers the occasional misstep, it’s also incredibly smart and sexy when the book (in a non-insulting/offensive way) delivers. The Future’s End tie-in was easily one of the best editorial mandated tie-in book to an event I don’t read this past year, and would be the best single issue for the series if we didn’t have a surprisingly sweet issue involving a Manty Raid.

I also can’t overlook the trio of female lead books set in the Batverse. Gotham Academy, but Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl and and a trio of amazing colorists ( Geyser, Dave McCaigand John Rauch) is Batman meets Harry Potter, and is a slick looking book I didn’t know I wanted, but now am incredibly happy we have. It reminds me of Jason Aaron‘s insanely charming run of Wolverine and the X-men, only with less mutants and more #Teens. Harley Quinn, by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Chad Hardin and Alex Sinclair, has became a massive hit for DC Comics, and while the book is pretty hit or miss to me, it’s hard to overlook it’s importance. It’s the closest DC has an book that truley appeals to the Deadpool audience, and when the book is good, it’s good. And finally there’s Batgirl, DC’s arguably most hyped book of the year. The book, seeing Fletcher joined by Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr and Maris Wick, set the internet aflame when it was announced, and has delivered ever since they creative team’s debut in October. It’s a much needed book that does some interesting things with Barbara Gordon, and much like Gotham Academy, it’s gorgeous and incredibly fun.

So yes, while DC has put out some incredibly bad books this past year (Forever Evil and the current run of Wonder Woman spring to mind), it seems they’ve finally found some books that match some of the gems Marvel has been offering as of late. I’m hoping this trend continues well into 2015.